Refrigerator



Aug. 31, 1943. J, LA CASSE 2,328,467

REFRIGERATOR Filed Nov. 6, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 31, 1943- w. J. LACASSE REFRIGERATOR 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 6

Patented Aeg. 31, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,328,467REFRIGERATOR William J. La Casse,

The Coolerator Com poration of Minnesota Application November 6, 1939,Serial No. 302,999 1 Claim. (CL 20-35) This invention relates to a.refrigerator and to a refrigerator door and door frame construction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedbreaker strip construction in a refrigerator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved breakerstrip construction by means of which warping of the breaker stripssurrounding the door opening in the refrigerator, due to moistureabsorption or temperature changes, is prevented While at the same timeprovision is made for allowing for expansion and contraction of saidbreaker strips due to temperature changes.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide in arefrigerator door a new and improved breaker strip construction which ismaterially less expensive than breaker strip constructions which havebeen employed heretofore in refrigerators and by means of which theflexible sealing strips embodied in the door construction may be readilyremoved and replaced when worn.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a refrigerator doorframe, a new and improved and relatively simple and inexpensiveconstuction for mounting breaker strips in the door opening of arefrigerator.

An additional object of the invention is to provide in a refrigeratordoor a novel sound-deadening construction and a new and improvedconstruction for supporting the inner metal wall or sheating of the doorfrom the outer metal wall or sheathing.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a refrigerator door anew and improved breaker strip construction which provides for expansionand contraction of the breaker strips due to temperature changes ormoisture.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claim and are illustrated in the yaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferredembodiments and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be thebest modes in which I have contemplated applying those principles. Otherembodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principlesmay be used and structural changes nay be made as desired by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the present invention Lnd thepurview of the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Duluth, Minn., assigner to Duluth, Minn., a cor- Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of a refrigerator embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view on line 2-2 inFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the upper portion of one of thedoors which are embodied in the new refrigerator construction;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the doors which areembodied in the new refrigerator construction;

Fig. 5 is a. sectional view on line 5"-5 in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 in Fig. 4

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the body of the newrefrigerator illustrating a preferred manner in which the breaker stripsare a refrigerator according to the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8 8 in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 in Fig. 8.

A refrigerator embodying the novel features of the present invention isillustrated in Fig. 1, wherein it is generally indicated at I0, andcomprises a body II which is provided with a door opening I2 which leadsinto an upper ice or cooling compartment I3 and with a second dooropening I4 which leads into a lower or food compartment I5.

The upper and cooling or ice compartment I3 is provided with a hingeddoor I6 and the lower and food compartment I5 is provided with a hingeddoor Il.

It will be noted. by reference to Figs 3 and 4, A*

that one end portion of each of the breaker 'strips 21 is fastened tothe inwardly extending flange 2l of the inner metal wall or sheathing 22of the door I1, by means of aluminum or like metal rivets 28, and thatthe other end portion 28 of each of the breaker strips 21 projects intoa groove 30 which is formed in a flexible or resilient sealing strip 32which is preferably formed of soft rubber or like material.

By reference to Fig. 3 it will also be noted that each of the flexiblesealing strips 32 has a portion 50 which projects under and extendsparallel to one of the breaker strips 21 and this portion 50 has achannel or groove 33 formed therein. The new breaker strip constructionon the door I1 includes a supporting member or strip 35, which ispreferably metallic, and this supporting member 35 includes an arm 5Iwhich extends parallel to but inwardly of the arm 53 of the adjacentsealing strip 32. The arm I of the supporting member 35 includes aninner end portion 34 which projects into the channel or groove 33 in thesealing strip 32.

The supporting member 35 also includes a channel-shaped portion 36 whichencloses a correspondingly shaped portion 3I formed on each of thesealing strips 32. The supporting member 35 has a portion 31 whichextends upwardly inside of, and which bears against the inwardly andgenerally vertically extending flange 2B of the metal wall or sheathing23 of the door I1 (Fig. 3). Thus, the supporting member being sopositioned, with respect to the flange 26 and the breaker strip, thereis provided a shallow recess. The dimensions of this said recess aresuch that the base or rear portion of the sealing bead 38 fits snuglytherein, as shown, see Figs. 3 and 5. It will also be noted, byreference to Fig. 3, that each of the flexible sealing strips 32includes a flexible or resilient sealing portion 38 which is adapted toengage against the frame 39 so as to seal the door opening I4, The endportions of the breaker strips 21 are spaced from each other, as at 42,(Fig. 6) so as to allow for expansion and contraction due to moistureabsorption and temperature changes, and said end portions of the breakerstrips 21 are interconnected by metal clips 40. It will be noted, byreference to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, that the outer end portions of the metalclips 40 are secured to the breaker strips 21 and to the flexiblesealing strips 32, and to the' metal supporting member 35 by screws 4I,which are preferably made of stainless steel, whereas the inner endportions of the metal clips 40 are secured to the inwardly extendingflange 25 of the inner metal wall or sheathing 22 by means of metalrivets 28 which are preferably formed of aluminum or similar metal.

It will thus be seen that the inner metal wall or sheathing 22 of thedoor I1 is supported from the outer metal wall or sheathing by theconjoint action of the metal clips 40 and the metal supporting member 35which also cooperates to retain the flexible or rubber sealingstrips 32in sealing position.

Another important advantage of the new door construction resides in thefact that the sealing strips 32-38 may be readily removed and replacedwhen worn by merely removing the screws 4I at the four corners of thedoor whereupon the inner metal wall or sheathing 22 and ther four cornerclips 40 and the breaker strips 21 and the sealing strips 324-38 may beremoved as a unit. The flexible sealing strips 32-38 may then be slippedof! of the end portions 23 of the'breaker strips 21 and replaced,whereupon the inner metal wall or sheathing 22, the corner clips 40, thebreaker strips 21 and the new sealing strips 32-38 may be inserted intoposition of use and secured therein by replacing the screws 4 I It willlikewise be observed that the breaker strips 21 function effectively asbreaker strips to prevent heat transfer by conduction between the innermetal wall or sheathing 22 and the outer wall or sheathing 23 of thedoor I1.

It will be noted that by utilizing the relatively inexpensive aluminumrivets 28 for securing the breaker strips 21 to the inwardly extendingflange 25 of the inner metal wall or sheathing 22 of the door I1 adistinct economy in construction is effected inasmuch as these aluminumrivets are relatively inexpensive when or as compared to screws, such asthe stainless steel screws 4 I, which are employed only to fasten theouter end portions of the metal clips 40, the outer end portions of thebreaker strips 21, the exible sealing strips 32, and the metalsupporting member or strip together. It will likewise be seen, in thisconnection, that since only two employed in connection witheach of themetal clips 40, the 'number of the same which is employed in theconstruction of the door I1 is materially reduced and minimized so thata distinct economy in construction is thus effected.

Indicated at 54 (Fig. 2) is a mass of tar or analogous material which ispoured while in a molten state upon and allowed to solidify upon l theinner sides of the front walls or sheathings i bottom-members of the ofthe doors I6 and I1 and which in use serves to u deaden the metallicsound produced by said walls when Struck or vibrated and to prevent thepassage of such sounds through the doors.

By reference to Figs. '1, 8 and 9 it will be noted that breaker strips52 are mounted upon the wooden frame 39 which surrounds the door openingI4 in a new and improved manner which will now be described.

Thus, it will be noted that the sides, top and frame 39 for the dooreach provided with a groove 43 (Fig. 8) and removably inserted into eachof these grooves 43 is one arm 44 of a metal supporting member in theform of an angle iron 45. Each of the breaker strips 52 is secured to,and is mounted upon,the other arm 46 of one of the metal supportingmembers or angle irons 45 by means of metal rivets 41 which arepreferably made of aluminum or other suitable and relatively inexpensivenon-corrosive metal.

It will also be noted by reference to Fig. 9 that the adjacent endportions of the breaker strips 52 are spaced from each other, as at 48,to allow for expansion and contraction of the breaker strips 52 due totemperature changes or moisture absorption and consequent swelling. Ametal clip 49 is arranged over and conceals each of these spaces 48 andis secured in position thereover by means of a fastening element whichis preferably in the form of a stainless steel screw 53 which isinserted into the wooden frame 39 of the door opening I4.

It will thus be seen that the breaker strips 52 are mounted upon andsecured in position of use by the metal supporting members or angle arms44--45-46 in such a manner that they are effectively held in position ofuse and are prevented from warping due to moisture absorption ortemperature changes while, at the same time, provision is made, by wayof the spaces 48, for alopening I4 are of these screws 4I are lowing forcontraction and expansion of these breaker strips 52 due to, temperaturechanges or moisture absorption and consequent swelling.

It Will also be noted, by reference to Figs. '1, 8 and 9, that inasmuchas the breaker strips 52 are attached to the metal supporting members orangle irons 44-45-46 by means of the relatively inexpensive aluminumrivets 41, at all points eX- cept the points where the stainless steelscrews 59 are employed, a distinct economy is effected in themanufacture of the frame 39 for the door opening and in the breakerstrip construction associated therewith, since the rivets 41 are, asstated above, relatively inexpensive compared to stainless steel screwssuch as the screws 50.

While the breaker strips, such as 21 and 52, may be made of any suitablematerial, which possesses low heat conductivity and is substantiallynon-hydroscopic, a preferred material for this purpose may be composedof a base of pressed vegetable ber coated with a resinous paint or othersuitable coating material.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred forms of myinvention, it is to be understood that these are capable `\of variationand modication, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes andalterations as fall within the purview of the following claim:

I claim:

A refrigerator door including spaced parallel inner and outer metalwalls, and a breaker strip which outlines a substantial portion of themarginal edges of the door, and a flexible sealing strip, said innerwall having an inwardly directed substantially right angle iiange towhich the breaker strip is permanently secured thereby forming a.unitary inner wall and breaker strip, the latter thus having a freeedge, said outer wall having a flange which is substantially'at a rightangle to the first mentioned Ilangeand which ange is directed inwardlytoward and spaced from the extreme free edge of the breaker strip, aonepiece supporting member, said supporting member being ofsubstantially right angle construction and having a portion thereofengaging and paralleling the inner side of the second mentioned flangeand continuing inwardly in the same plane and thus with the saidinwardly directed flange portion of the outer wall forming a shoulderedsealing strip seat and the said supporting member further continuing toits juncture whereat an inset channel is formed, and another portion ofthe said supporting member extending beneath the free edge portion ofthe breaker strip, the sealing strip consisting of a web portion and anenlarged sealing bead portion, the latter portion being co-extensivewith and shaped to snugly engage the said shouldered seat and having aportion of the web thereof positioned in the channel of the supportingmember and extending therefrom intermediate the portion of thesupporting member beneath the breaker strip and the underside free edgeportion of the breaker strip and in contact and co-extensive with boththe said portion of the breaker strip and the last said portion of thesupporting member, the extreme free edge portlon of the` breaker stripbeing positioned in the channel construction and contacting that portionof the sealing strip therein, and removable means for detachablysecuring the free end portion of the breaker strip, the said sealingstrip and the supporting member together, whereby the inner wall withits permanently secured breaker strip is removable; thereby permittingready replacement of a worn sealing strip.

WILLIAM J. LA CASSE.

